Just over 12 months ago in Prague, the England U20 women’s team lifted the European Championship trophy after a hugely successful 2023 ELF Women’s U21 Championship campaign.
Led by captains Rachael Ball, Millie Cant, and Ana Green, England won all five games on their road to glory, scoring 76 goals and conceding just 21.
As the team take to the field tomorrow against Jamaica for their opening Pool D game at the 2024 World Lacrosse Women’s U20 Championship in Hong Kong, China, the trio of captains will surely have an eye on repeating their success, but for now Green is only looking as far as those first few games.
“For now, we're just focusing on the pool; we're going to take each game as it comes. Obviously, given that it's been five years since the last World Championship, so many things have changed and different teams have brought in different levels of coaching and players, so we really are going into the unknown.
“We know that we've prepared as best as we can, so we'll take it game by game, work on it each way and as we get through to the knockouts and the quarter-finals etc., we're looking to just continue building and take every game in our stride.”
The England U20 women’s team has been in Hong Kong for a few days now, giving them chance to shake off any jet lag and get acclimatised to the weather, it’s been 30 degrees with up to 80% humidity since they arrived, and Ball believes these first few days have been invaluable.
“After recovering from the flight and the initial feeling of jet lag, Rich [Lalor, England’s Strength and Conditioning Coach] had us on a strict timetable trying to keep us up and doing the right things, we've now had three training sessions and we’ve been slowly building up the intensity and getting used to the heat which has been a massive thing.
”We're now at the point where we're ready to go and our heads are on the pool games.”
Despite most of the England World Championship squad having played in major tournaments before, Green wants to impress upon her teammates that this one is likely to be a bit different from others.
“I think it will be a very different kind of tournament to anything we've played in before, both in its intensity and the professionalism behind it.
“We have very detailed schedules in terms of our recovery: rest, rehydration. Nearly every hour is outlined as to how we can recover and best prepare ourselves for the next day. So I think it will definitely be a shock to the system.
“Also, dealing with the heat and being able to manage that exhaustion, but it should be something that we can get into a bit of a rhythm with so that we're not as affected by it and can keep turning up to each game our best.”
This year’s World Championship squad has had some changes since last year’s Euros win, but Cant feels the new recruits have slotted into the group without any trouble at all.
“We have quite a lot of young players and we're quite a young squad. The senior squad is also quite young but we have so much strength in depth across all of us. Everyone brings something individual to the team and collectively on the field we're just able to produce and develop.
“I think having such a young team makes everyone motivated and resilient and there's nothing to lose in that respect, we're just going to give it our best shot.”
In many ways, last year’s Euros campaign was all part of a bigger journey for the U20 women’s squad towards the 2024 World Championship, focused primarily on improving and developing as lacrosse athletes, something Ball is keen to impress.
“It's been a massive journey. For a lot of us, we've been in the England Lacrosse Talent Pathway for four or five years now, so we have really got to know each other well.
“In terms of the Euros, that was a massive stepping stone but it was all really towards the World Championship. That was the bigger picture.
“It's been a massive help having a bit of continuity within the group from the Euros, but equally I think we all knew it was going to change and some of the additions to the group have been amazing.
“We definitely know each other really well, probably better than we did at the Euros, and that’s something that we all view as a strength that we have that maybe some teams don't have as we've been able to train more together.”
The England U20 women’s team is likely to be supported by a large English contingent of fans both in Hong Kong and watching from home on World Lacrosse TV and Green doesn’t want to underestimate the power the England fans give to the team.
“Any support in person or online is invaluable. For so many of them, it'll be our family and friends who've supported us from the beginning of our journey.
“So to be able to do it on a stage as prestigious as a World Championship is incredible and I think I speak for the whole team when I say that we want to do everybody proud, parents especially who've sacrificed quite a lot, especially if they're travelling out here.
“We are going to leave it all out there. So any support, near or far, is greatly appreciated whether it's tuning in or watching it live we are all hugely appreciative of it.”
England begin their 2024 World Lacrosse Women’s U20 Championship campaign against Jamaica at 10am (BST) on Friday 16 August.
